The Time Lord's Hearts
by Victoria LeRoux
Summary: It's over. Everything Harry Potter knew was destroyed. But when a stranger offers him the chance to start over, to try it all again, he has no choice but to agree. Time Travel, Animagus Harry, Manipulative  but not evil  Dumbles.


_Author's Note: _I've always wanted to do this. And this'll be my second HP time travel story. But here's the first part of the prelude. Mind posting a comment on here so I know if the first couple paragraphs are any good?

THE TIME LORD'S HEARTS  
><em>Prelude<em>

The castle, once majestic and proud, still had fires flickering at its ruining. The walls were demolished- results of haphazardly tossed about spells making themselves know. No traces of life seemed evident, only evidence of former life lay about, corpses staring into dark skies, some faces with screams on them, others with calm as though they had seen Death's eternal jaws springing upon them.

No- there was life in there. One man walked among the ruins, grief snarling its way across his features, even as a single trail of tears began to whisper along his cheek. Silence was heavy, clinging to the surface of the earth.

"Why? What did they ever do?" The survivor screamed his rage into the sky, his head flung back, his fists clenched with fury, a wand in his right hand, a crimson-stained sword clenched in his left. "They didn't deserve this!"

Harry Potter had defeated Voldemort. Somewhere, there were parties, rejoicing, cheers. But here... here there was nothing but the ruins of the only home Harry Potter had ever cherished.

"They did nothing!" his scream shattered the silence that clung to the earth, even as Harry Potter felt the truth of the night hit him.

They had won, yes, but he had lost. Behind him, faces and imprints of the dead haunted him.

_Bushy hair, a shy smile. "Harry, I was in the library-"_

_"Blimey, mate! That was my sister you were snogging!" A slightly lopsided grin, red-hair, shabby robes, an old sandwich clutched in one hand as two eyes stared in shock at Harry._

_"Now, grip your wand tightly. Think of a very strong memory. The incantation is _Expecto Patronum!_" Mousy brown hair, slightly grayed with the pain of many transformations._

_A black dog following him to the train, it's tail wagging as it padded after Harry. "-Harry, take care of yourself."_

_"Wotcher Harry!" shifting colors, a pig's snout of a nose. "Remus and I got married!" Silver ring flashed on a finger._

_Long, red hair. Mischievous brown eyes. A sly smile tugging on the corner of one mouth. "Here's my birthday present, Harry."_

_More faces, more images. Lost. All of them- _**lost!**

So intense was his focus upon all the grief, all the rage, Harry James Potter wasn't aware that behind him, a blue police box was beginning to materialize behind him, fading into view with a slightly increasing pitch, and despite all his years of _Constant Vigilance! _he wasn't aware of the man that cheerily opened the box's door until he spoke, his eyebrows raised, eyes wide as a smile gleamed across his teeth, but slowly, that smile faded.

"Not the usual type of scene to wander into, eh? And what brings you here? Speaking of which, where is... _here?_" The man asked, causing Harry to spin around and slide into the classic _on guard_ position.

"Who are you?" Harry growled, a curse already on his lips as his narrowed eyes examined the man carefully. He didn't look like a Death Eater would- or even a wizard. Muggle clothing, no wand in sight, yet there had been no sign of his approach. Perhaps the Muggle Repelling Wards had fallen, but something caused Harry to doubt it was just that.

"Me?" The man looked surprised at the questioning, then his body relaxed as he slid his hands into his pockets and leaned against the door of the box he had appeared with. "I'm the Doctor."

"The Doctor... of what?" Harry couldn't help the ironic grin that twisted across his features. Whatever he was the doctor of, he certainly had arrived far too late to be of any help. The smile melted off, leaving behind a stone cold face behind.

"Just the Doctor," the stranger shrugged cheerfully, looking around with childlike fascination.

"That's not very informative." Harry murmured, his fingers curling around the Elder Wand in his grasp. The evasive answer was putting him on edge, as was the carefree attitude.

"The Doctor of Everything, I suppose," the stranger prowled away from the box, his eyes roving across the scenery, frowning as he looked at the castle. "I'd almost say this is Medieval times, but you don't quite fit into the pattern. Ah! How long have you been here? 21st century perhaps? Suddenly landed beside this castle? Did you perhaps have an encounter with a strange set of statues?"

Harry blinked staring at the man, off kilter by the rapid-fire questions and the destruction he had just lived through. However, one detail began to whisper through. A vague idea began to form in his mind- a plan worthy of Ravenclaw was constructing itself.

"Are you talking about time travel?" Harry cut the man- _the Doctor- _off before more questions could be flung at him. "A-and no, this is the 20th century. May 3, 1998."

"Oh, a good year all around, at least in my Earth," the Doctor exclaimed, then cocked his head to the side. "Perhaps this is a parallel universe... or maybe..."

Harry could nearly see the wheels churning in the Doctor's head as the man thought. It was a curious sight, but it was just like the days of watching Hermione puzzle out a particularly amusing or fascinating thought.

"Maybe, this never happened."

Harry's eyes narrowed, and he once again reached for his wand, anger rearing its ugly head.

_This never happened._

"My friends are dead, killed by a madman," Harry was close to snarling, but he could hear the dead echo in his voice. The Doctor glanced up, looking startled. "_And you are saying this never happened?"_

"No, not that. I'm saying that this is going to unhappen," The man's infernal voice was cheerful. "Because it wasn't supposed to happen, and we're going to make it so it never happened."

It was a dim thread of hope, and Harry would have never touched it if not everything was gone and dead. So he seized the bait, his eyes looking alive for what felt like the first time in years, even if it was only a few days.

"And how is that possible?"

"Why," the Doctor made a small jerk of his head as he drew out the syllable, his hands still in his pockets. "I send you back in time, of course."

* * *

><p><em>AN: Sorry if I have dates wrong. Harry Potter always seemed very... timeless to me. Just because. *hops up and down* Please tell me what you think? Updates on this are probably going to be more sporadic than updates on AQOH and OT buuuuut._

_Username change alert! I shall soon be Victoria LaRoux._


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